Willie Thompson

William "Willie" Thompson (1909-) was an Assistant US Attorney from New York City, the son of Atlantic County sheriff Eli Thompson, and the nephew of political boss Enoch Thompson.

Biography
William Thompson was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1909, one of eight children. His father, Eli Thompson, would become Sheriff of Atlantic County after Enoch Thompson became the political boss of Atlantic City, and Willie (as he was known to his family and friends) Thompson worked at a lumber yard during his teenage years. Thompson was forced to become the man of the house when his father was jailed for electoral fraud in 1923, and he assisted his uncle during his war with Gyp Rosetti by sheltering him at the lumber yard; the yard became a base for Thompson, Chalky White, and Al Capone during their war with the Masseria crime family. Later that year, Thompson enrolled at Temple University in Pennsylvania, and he was a good student, although he had few friends.

In 1924, Thompson poisoned his class rival after spiking his drink, leading to his uncle having to pull some strings to have his roommate arrested instead. Willie Thompson, full of guilt, dropped out of school and decided to enter the family business. Thompson did some odd jobs for his uncle, including serving as an aide to mayor Edward Bader. It was Willie Thompson who discovered Bader's loyalty to African-American mob boss Valentin Narcisse, helping Enoch Thompson in making decisions during the rivalry between Narcisse and White. However, Enoch Thompson persuaded his nephew to return to school and make something good out of himself, and he decided to study law.

By 1931, Thompson was an Assistant US Attorney in New York City, and he devoted his life to fighting crime, although some of his peers were suspicious of him due to his uncle's influence. That year, Thompson was briefly kidnapped by Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky as a part of a hostage exchange deal, and Thompson was traded for Bugsy Siegel after the assassination of Salvatore Maranzano. He returned to living an honest life, becoming a skilled attorney.